[Epidemiology of gastrointestinal nematodes in small ruminants in the plateau areas in Togo].

Post-mortem helminthological examinations were performed in Togo on small ruminants of the Djallonké breed (59 sheep, 60 goats), revealing the presence of eight gastrointestinal nematode species which were, in decreasing prevalence order, Trichostrongylus sp. (T. axei and T. colubriformis) (99%), Haemonchus contortus (82%), Strongyloides papillosus (67%), Cooperia curticei (43%), Oesophagostomum columbianum (40%), Gaigeria pachyscelis (36%) and Trichuris ovis (4%). The average worm burden was 1,367 +/- 146 in sheep and 1,133 +/- 102 in goats with an adult worm population peak in August-September (sheep: 2,135 +/- 494, goats: 2,066 +/- 270). During the dry season, Haemonchus contortus and Oesophagostomum columbianum populations were mainly in larval hypobiosis (L4). The number of eggs per gram faeces was usually high (> 3,000) and neither the species nor the age of the host (6 months to 3 years) played a significant role in helminth abundance.